With 2017 shaping up as another uncertain year, a fund with a bias towards high quality growth companies whose management teams have plenty of 'skin in the game' has appeal.Step forward Jupiter UK Smaller Companies (GB00B3LRRF45), a unit trust with a strong record of outperforming the IA UK Smaller Companies sector.Manager James Zimmerman is a stock picker inspired by feted investors Warren...

Engineer Fenner (FENR) looks set to return to profit and revenue growth this year after a period of dire trading prompted by a sell-off in its key raw materials markets.A bullish trading update published today is prompting N+1 Singer analyst Jon Lienard to raise earnings forecasts for the year to 31 August 2017 by around 10%.Prior to the trading update, Lienard forecast Fenner's sales at...

Conveyor belt specialist Fenner (FENR), already facing disruption from weak commodity markets, is now without a full-time chief executive officer (CEO) after Nick Hobson was hit by ill health.Chairman Mark Abrahams, who was CEO from 1994 to 2011, will fill the gap until Hobson returns, though Abrahams himself is scheduled to leave the business in 2017.Management instability adds a new layer of...

Mainstream discussions of commodity prices tend to be dominated by energy and metals markets which have been under severe pressure in 2015. Amid all the negative commentary it might surprise you to learn there is a commodity which has actually appreciated in value year-to-date.Cocoa - the crop from which chocolate is derived - is up around 6% so far in 2015 thanks to a combination of...

Stock markets across Europe suffer steep falls in early trade on Monday as the Greece debt crisis intensifies amid a swathe of capital controls imposed by Greek leaders and calls for a referendum on bailout terms. French, German and Spanish stock markets all start the week's trading deep in the red, while the EU-wide Euro Stoxx 50 index slumps close to 3.5%, just about keeping its head above...

A growing global population needs feeding, and the stock market is home to a slew of firms plugged into this trend. Among them are the quoted plantation companies, sitting within the Food Producers sector, whose agricultural assets can have great strategic value for bigger plantations players. Profits can grow sharply, though patience is required while estates are developed and crops...

Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner (FENR) takes a bath as it issues a profit warning - down 14.5% to 333p. Difficult trading in the US coal industry and an unsuccessful tender in Australia lead the Yorkshire-based group to guide for pre-tax profit up to 15% lower than the consensus figure of £77.6 million for the year running to 31 August.Fenner says trading conditions and the cautious...

Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner (FENR) is under pressure - down 6.7% at 424.8p - after warning its results for the August 2014 fiscal year could see a hit thanks to a strong pound.The first quarter trading update also sees the company note visibility in its Engineered Conveyor Solutions (ECS) business is 'more limited than usual' and flag a deferral of customer sales in its Advanced...

Full-year results from Fenner (FENR) trigger a positive response from the market, sending the industrial conveyor belt and reinforced polymer maker up 7.2% to 436.6p.The numbers, which cover the 12 months to 31 August, are bolstered by a strong second half after difficult trading conditions in key markets - including the mining sector - hit first half trading.Pre-tax profits are off 23.4%...